Northern Europe · Finnish
Finnish Wedding Toasts: Cheers, Speeches, and Customs
Fewer words than its neighbors, and a dance where the groom's friends steal the bride.
Raise a glass
Kippis
KIP-pis · Cheers
To the couple
Onnea hääparille!
ON-neh-ah HAH-pah-ril-leh · Happiness to the wedding couple
Who speaks, and when
- A toastmaster may run the dinner, as in Sweden, but Finnish weddings often have fewer speeches and shorter ones.
- Parents and the best man or maid of honor are the usual speakers. The couple thanks the guests.
- A friend may read a poem or lead a song rather than give a speech.
How long
Two to four minutes. Finns value brevity, and a speech that says one true thing and sits down is admired.
What you’ll see
- The bride's dance with the guests: the bride is blindfolded, the unmarried women dance in a ring around her, and the one she crowns with her garland is said to marry next.
- The groom's friends may 'kidnap' the bride and the groom must sing, perform, or pay to get her back.
- A money dance is common: guests pay a small amount to dance with the bride or groom.
- 'Kippis' is the toast, said with a nod rather than a long ritual.
- Sauna before the wedding, separately for the bride and groom with their friends, is a tradition in many families.
If you’re the guest from somewhere else
- A short speech lands better than a long one here. Say the true thing and raise the glass.
- Join the dancing. The bride's dance and the money dance are for everyone.
- A quiet room during a speech is attention, not disapproval.
A toast you could give
Short, warm, specific to the couple, and ending on the phrase. Swap in your own names and your own detail; the shape is what matters.
Aino says more in three words than most people say in an evening, and all three are usually right. Eero, listen to her. To Aino and Eero. Kippis!
Speaking at a Finnish wedding?
Whatever the tradition, the speech that lands has the same bones: one story, a turn, a word to the partner, a toast. The guides have it for every role, and the free check reads your draft and tells you how it lands.